Hand held labelers are known for printing information on labels. Known labelers have included a keyboard and/or an optical reader or scanner for inputting data including scanned bar code information to the labeler to print the input information on a label. One labeler employing a scanner is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,652,317. However, this labeler is limited in that only one bar code may be scanned and stored at a time for printing that single bar code on one or more labels. Other labelers are known wherein scanned information including a number of different bar codes can be input to the labeler and stored for data acquisition or printing. However, these labelers are limited in that they are not capable of manipulating the data entered into the labeler to move the data in association with any other data stored in the memory. More particularly, these known labelers typically employ a look up table that associates data in a fixed manner. If a first piece of data is not associated with a second piece of data in the look up table, these known labelers cannot print a label with both the first and second pieces of data because the labeler is not capable of manipulating the data to associate the two otherwise non-associated pieces of data.
Further, known labelers typically include software programs stored in a ROM, PROM or the like that define the operations of the labeler in a fixed manner that can only be changed by replacing the memory or by removing the memory from the labeler for reprogramming and reinserting the reprogrammed memory back into the labeler. One labeler is known that stores the software programs defining the labeler's operation in a read only memory; however, the labeler also stores information in a programmable memory to enable or disable various ones of the labeler's operations. By downloading new enable/disable information to this labeler, the executable operations of the labeler can be changed. Although this labeler is more flexible than other labelers, it does not allow a user to redefine or reprogram an enabled operation to change the way in which the operation is performed or to change the fixed sequence in which enabled operations are performed. Further, although information can be downloaded to this labeler from a remote location, the labeler cannot support real time interactivity with the remote location during a printing operation. Therefore, if a printing operation is started which is dependant upon particular information being stored in the labeler and that particularly information is not stored in the labeler the printing operation is aborted to allow the required information to be downloaded into the labeler. Thereafter the printing operation must be restarted from the beginning.
Known labelers further typically require data that is input to the printer to be tied or linked to a specific or selected print format. More particularly, data cannot be entered into a typical labeler without first inputting a print format for the data. With these printers, in order to print the same data in accordance with two different print formats, the data must be entered twice, once in association with one of the print formats and a second time in association with the other print format. Also, these known labelers cannot collect data separately from data to be printed.